Press Room

One Blood, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Hold Blood Drive

(Orlando, FL July 14, 2016)OneBlood, the local blood center, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., a national service organization with more than 150,000 members and chapters located on campuses nationwide, have joined forces by holding a blood drive and promoting the importance for the need for blood donations by African Americans. Coinciding with the blood drive, the fraternity will hold a press conference at the Lake Eola Amphitheater announcing Orlando as the site for its 2017 national convention.

Press Conference

11:30 a.m.

Blood Drive

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

101 North Rosalind Avenue

Orlando, FL 32801

Each blood donor will receive a free OneBlood Cooler Bag. Appointments can by calling (888) 9-DONATE or visiting www.oneblooddonor.org and using the sponsor code #36343.

According to, Pat Michaels, spokesman for OneBlood, the local blood center, “African-American blood donors hold the power to save other African-American’s in need of a blood transfusion. That’s because donors with genetically-similar blood are more likely to be a match for patients from the same ethnic background.”

When it comes to blood donations, researchers have found that African-Americans are under-represented among donors, and that minority donors in general are less likely to become regular donors. Increasing African-American donations is vital because blood types O and B, the blood types of about 70 percent of African-Americans, are also the blood types most in demand.

Genetically-similar blood is preferred for those who need repeated blood transfusions, and for conditions like sickle cell disease (SCD), which primarily affects African-Americans. Blood that closely matches that of a patient is less likely to be rejected by the patient and can mean fewer complications after a transfusion.

African-American blood donors are more likely to be a match for the majority of individuals with SCD in the United States, making them ideal donors to help SCD patients receiving regular blood transfusions.

A predominantly African American fraternity established in 1911, Kappa Alpha Psi locally is well known for its community services. The most notable center on mentoring youth and awarding college scholarships based on financial need as well as academic achievement. “So, we’re really looking forward to adding this project to the list,” said Tony Foster, immediate past president of the fraternity’s Orlando Alumni Chapter. “It’s one that touches us all personally, and it’s comforting to know that we can take action to help our brothers and sisters through such a quick and simple good deed.”

During the next year, culminating with Kappa Alpha Psi’s convention during the week of July 18-22, 2017, One Blood and the fraternity will hold quarterly blood drives. (The dates are pending.) Additionally, Kappa Alpha Psi will publicize educational programs about blood donation targeted to African Americans.

About Kappa Alpha Psi

Founded in 1911, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. has more than 150,000 members worldwide and 700-plus college and alumni chapters. Local chapters include Orlando Alumni, established in 1947, and Winter Park Alumni, in 1992. The undergraduate Lambda Omega Chapter at the University of Central Florida received its charter in 1983.

About OneBlood

OneBlood is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) community asset responsible for providing safe, available and affordable blood to more than 200 hospital partners and their patients throughout most of Florida, parts of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. The OneBlood name is a constant reminder of the collective power we share to save another person’s life.

Committee Press Contacts

About Us

Kappa Alpha Psi , a college Fraternity, now comprised of functioning Undergraduate and Alumni Chapters on major campuses and in cities throughout the country, is the crystallization of a dream. It is the beautiful realization of a vision shared commonly by the late Revered Founders Elder Watson Diggs; John Milton Lee; Byron Kenneth Armstrong; Guy Levis Grant; Ezra Dee Alexander; Henry Tourner Asher; Marcus Peter Blakemore; Paul Waymond Caine; Edward Giles Irvin and George Wesley Edmonds..